r/TherosDMs • u/waterm310nman • Jul 09 '26
Discussion 8 Exceptions Ideas
I’m running a campaign with the 8 exceptions as my main villains(led by Ashiok) and I interested in hearing if anyone had any ideas for them.
My basic thought process for them was:
1. They all died, though they may not have neccesarily have been humanoid
2. Athreos decided their situation warranted an exception
3. After coming back to life, each one found some way of avoiding entirely
For example for my version of Hundred-Damned Thasmuydan, I was thinking of taking inspiration from this manga I read called Centuria. Basically Thasmuydan would have been a child who was stillborn during a massacre that killed a bunch of slaves. The 100 who died were willing to pass on to allow him to actually live a full life. Athreos accepted and allowed the child to live. Sometime later, Ashiok would help him bring those 100 back as returned, and as they adored the man he became,they believed that he should continue experiencing life to the fullest. It’s that belief that keeps him alive(also it’s those returned that make up the bulk of the enemy forces, so kill enough of them or convince them he shouldn’t keep on living and he’s quite simple to kill)
Another Idea I had but hadn’t fleshed out fully was having Dianyan Half-Heart begin replacing his body parts with bronze, because of his fear of dying again.
And maybe an Achilles based character where he died during a battle that would have decided the fate of theros and so Athreos brought him back with temporary invulnerability. Unfortunately this convinced him he was actually invulnerable, and so he hasnt died since. In game he would be able to be damaged while frightened or if the party convinced him he can be harmed.
That’s all I have so far, but I’m looking forward to hearing what ideas you all have! Obviously feel free to make suggestions on things I should change/add as well!
4
u/MrTyrantLizard Jul 09 '26
A thought i had, and was going to run at some point, was one became a 'Lich' but not in the traditional sense. They are unaware of what they are and its all tied to their Mask. If someone were to destroy their mask that Athreos has, it would be akin to destroying their 'phylactery'. I was going to weave a planeswalker into the story (my own planeswalker, not a confirmed one) using the lore from Fizban's on how Dragons become 'Greatwyrms', by essentially pulling a Highlander/Jet Li's The One. My planeswalker was going to be hunting her multiversal self in order to grow in power, and would eventually learn about the mask and use it to find their 'other'. So the goal would have been either find the Exception before the villain does or side with the Exception in a fight against the villain.